Many parents who pull their kids out of brick-and-mortar schools to home school them speak of the need to let the kids de-school. During the de-schooling period, you should avoid setting up a rigid schedule or expecting much academic work from your kids. Instead, you are supposed to read a ton, watch educational videos, and take field trips. Just get used to being at home, they say. The recommended de-schooling time varies, but some suggest one month for every year your child was in school.
In many ways, I feel like I've been de-inning since we moved to the house at the end of August. I haven't been a complete lump on a log; I don't think that's possible with four kids. I'm still working full time. The house is at a reasonable level of cleanliness. The kids are maintaining their usual level of outside activities, which, admittedly, is not much this time of year, and I have my weekly Pilates class. Michael and I have joined a monthly book group that we enjoy, and we were both involved in a local theater production in February.
All that said, I find that home is my favorite place to be. If we don't have a specific invitation (which I do enjoy!), I have no desire to seek out something to do. I'm quite content to sit in front of the fire with Michael and read. Or, when the weather is nice, sit out on the deck and listen to the birds and the sound of the creek.
I can't even quite muster the energy to start the projects that await. With eight acres, there is plenty to do outside. And at some point I really would like to paint over the orange walls in the basement.
I've been feeling guilty about my sloth, but when I mentioned that to a pair of local innkeepers, they immediately pooh-poohed my professions of guilt. "Of course you want to stay home and not do anything!" Which reminded me of de-schooling.
According to the one month for every year formula, I should be approaching the end of de-inning sometime between the end of March and the end of April. And I have noticed a faint desire for spring cleaning and yard work stirring deep inside.
Maybe, just maybe, it's time to come back to the real world.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Reading Life--Part 2
The Book of Mormon Girl--I bought this for my Kindle because one of my college roommates mentioned it on Facebook. Joanna Brooks and I were students in BYU's English department at the same time; I knew of her but didn't know her. Her memoir made me both laugh and cry with nostalgia. I highly recommend this to anyone who grew up Mormon in the 1970s and '80s.
Duty Free--elliptical fluff. Tolerable, but I won't seek out more books by this author.
The Thin Man--another book about the stereotypical hard-boiled, heavy-drinking, chain-smoking detective. Except, of course, it wasn't a stereotype at all until Dashiell Hammett created it in this and other books. This is very short and a quick read. I didn't see the solution to the mystery ahead of time, which is always nice. I don't think I've ever read a book with a higher drinks-per-page ratio.
Galileo's Daughter--another pre-trip read. Galileo had three children, all illegitimate. He purchased legitimacy for his youngest child, a son. The two daughters he put in a convent just outside Florence. He and his oldest daughter kept up a regular correspondence, and although his letters to her have not survived, hers to him have. Despite the title, this is really a biography of Galileo, not his daughter, but the inclusion of her letters in the narrative provides a different view of him. I knew only the barest outline of Galileo's conflict with the church, so I learned a lot reading this.
I won't talk about Michael's latest book in an attempt to provide some anonymity for my blog, but I enjoyed reading and proofreading it. It'll be out in the fall.
Witches Under Way--the newest book from my favorite fluff author. This was supposed to be my elliptical book, but I finished it off early on a day I was recovering from a cold.
In the Garden of Beasts--the book club pick for this month (although I suggested it). I have read a fair bit about WWII Germany and Hitler, and yet I really didn't know much about the events of 1933 and 1934, and I'm not sure I'd ever heard of The Night of the Long Knives (June 30, 1934). This book is based on the writings of the American ambassador to Germany and his daughter Martha, who dated a number of Nazi officials during her years in Berlin. I found Rudolf Diels, the head of the Gestapo, to be surprisingly sympathetic and shockingly sane and moderate. He realized just a little too late that the Gestapo attracted sadists and made sadists out of even the normal men and women who worked for it.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy--this book was on so many reading lists--including the "I Can't Believe You Haven't Read *That*?!" list--that it was only a matter of time before I read it. I enjoyed it. I chuckled a time or two. I don't understand those who say it is the best science fiction book ever written. I need more depth in my great books. I did jot down a couple of quotes I may use in the future.
Slaughterhouse-Five--I found this while alphabetizing the paperbacks left in the ping-pong room by the former owners. I'd heard of it, of course, but knew no details, so I was a bit surprised to find myself back in WWII Germany. Excellent book. I should read more Vonnegut, because so far I'm 2-for-2 with his books.
On Writing--Michael recommended this to me more than once, and I was finally in the mood to read it. I enjoyed the memoir parts the most; the writing advice less. It was interesting to get a look at how he works, especially since I share my office with a fiction writer.
The Human Factor--Stephen King recommended some Graham Greene books in On Writing, and I knew from alphabetizing the paperbacks that we had some of Greene's books. We didn't have the ones King recommended, so I picked this one because the cover quote said, "Probably the best espionage novel ever written." I haven't read enough in the genre to speak to that (and the quote is over 30 years old now), but I did enjoy it. The author has some nice turns of phrase that I meant to write down, but I was too caught up in the plot to do that, and now I can't find them.
Duty Free--elliptical fluff. Tolerable, but I won't seek out more books by this author.
The Thin Man--another book about the stereotypical hard-boiled, heavy-drinking, chain-smoking detective. Except, of course, it wasn't a stereotype at all until Dashiell Hammett created it in this and other books. This is very short and a quick read. I didn't see the solution to the mystery ahead of time, which is always nice. I don't think I've ever read a book with a higher drinks-per-page ratio.
Galileo's Daughter--another pre-trip read. Galileo had three children, all illegitimate. He purchased legitimacy for his youngest child, a son. The two daughters he put in a convent just outside Florence. He and his oldest daughter kept up a regular correspondence, and although his letters to her have not survived, hers to him have. Despite the title, this is really a biography of Galileo, not his daughter, but the inclusion of her letters in the narrative provides a different view of him. I knew only the barest outline of Galileo's conflict with the church, so I learned a lot reading this.
I won't talk about Michael's latest book in an attempt to provide some anonymity for my blog, but I enjoyed reading and proofreading it. It'll be out in the fall.
Witches Under Way--the newest book from my favorite fluff author. This was supposed to be my elliptical book, but I finished it off early on a day I was recovering from a cold.
In the Garden of Beasts--the book club pick for this month (although I suggested it). I have read a fair bit about WWII Germany and Hitler, and yet I really didn't know much about the events of 1933 and 1934, and I'm not sure I'd ever heard of The Night of the Long Knives (June 30, 1934). This book is based on the writings of the American ambassador to Germany and his daughter Martha, who dated a number of Nazi officials during her years in Berlin. I found Rudolf Diels, the head of the Gestapo, to be surprisingly sympathetic and shockingly sane and moderate. He realized just a little too late that the Gestapo attracted sadists and made sadists out of even the normal men and women who worked for it.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy--this book was on so many reading lists--including the "I Can't Believe You Haven't Read *That*?!" list--that it was only a matter of time before I read it. I enjoyed it. I chuckled a time or two. I don't understand those who say it is the best science fiction book ever written. I need more depth in my great books. I did jot down a couple of quotes I may use in the future.
Slaughterhouse-Five--I found this while alphabetizing the paperbacks left in the ping-pong room by the former owners. I'd heard of it, of course, but knew no details, so I was a bit surprised to find myself back in WWII Germany. Excellent book. I should read more Vonnegut, because so far I'm 2-for-2 with his books.
On Writing--Michael recommended this to me more than once, and I was finally in the mood to read it. I enjoyed the memoir parts the most; the writing advice less. It was interesting to get a look at how he works, especially since I share my office with a fiction writer.
The Human Factor--Stephen King recommended some Graham Greene books in On Writing, and I knew from alphabetizing the paperbacks that we had some of Greene's books. We didn't have the ones King recommended, so I picked this one because the cover quote said, "Probably the best espionage novel ever written." I haven't read enough in the genre to speak to that (and the quote is over 30 years old now), but I did enjoy it. The author has some nice turns of phrase that I meant to write down, but I was too caught up in the plot to do that, and now I can't find them.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Reading Life--Part 1
I have been a reading machine this year, but unfortunately not a blogging one. I considered not blogging about my reads, but frankly, I use the blog regularly to remind me of what I've read. So, this post is for me. If you'd like to come along, great!
Thrush Green--This book is the first in a series that was recommended to me as an English version of the Mitford books. Pleasant enough, but I prefer Mitford. I doubt I will seek out the other books in the series, but I won't avoid them if they stumble onto my path.
If only people would realize that light-hearted and gay things were not any less significant than the violent and brutish, what a step forward it would be. Because a song, a book, a play, a picture or anything created was gay it did not necessarily follow that it was trivial. 47
The First Paul: Reclaiming the Radical Visionary Behind the Church's Conservative Icon--Another book by Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan. I snatched it up from the New Books shelf at the library. I am not a fan of Paul, and I doubted that Borg and Crossan could change my mind. They argue that some of the letters attributed to Paul were not in fact written by him.
The post-Pauline, pseudo-Pauline letters are anti-Pauline with regard to major aspects of his theology. They represent, as we argue in the next chapter, a taming of Paul, a domestication of Paul's passion to the normalcy of the Roman imperial world in which he and his followers lived. 15
They also made explicit one of the things that bothers me about much of the religious discourse in our country:
For Luther, Paul's message was about the end of requirements as the basis of our relationship with God.
For other Protestants, including even many descendants of Luther, Paul's theology has been understood not as the abolitions of requirements, but as the new requirement--namely, believing his theology is what we must do in order to be saved. 8
I wouldn't say I'm a fan of Paul yet, but I am willing to consider that I might have misunderstood him under the influence of writings falsely attributed to him. I look forward to doing more reading and research.
100 Cupboards and Dandelion Fire--I asked the kids for recommendations, and NB recommended Dandelion Fire. Since it was the second book in the series, I had to read the first book first. These were good enough that I stayed up late reading to see what happened next, but not so great that I picked up the third book. Of course, the author also wrapped things up nicely at the end of the second book. Had there been a thread dangling, I might have read on.
Scarlet Feather--My first Maeve Binchy. I was supposed to read this in Ireland, but didn't get to it. Instead, it became my elliptical machine reading. Pleasant. I might read the other books with these same characters. Some day.
Brunelleschi's Dome--I checked out this book to prepare for my trip to Italy in April. I feel too lazy to learn Italian (really, if I'm going to study a foreign language, I should work on my pathetic Spanish), so the least I can do is supply the background trivia and human-interest stories. This is the story of the construction of the dome on Santa Maria del Fiore, the cathedral in Florence.
For the past fifty years the south aisle of the unfinished cathedral had housed a thirty-foot-long scale model of the structure, in effect an artist's impression of what the cathedral should look like once finished. The problem was that the model included an enormous dome--a dome that, if built, would be the highest and widest vault ever raised. And for fifty years it had been obvious that no one in Florence--or anywhere in Italy, for that matter--had any clear idea how to construct it. The unbuilt dome of Santa Maria del Fiore had therefore become the greatest architectural puzzle of the age. Many experts considered its erection an impossible feat. Even the original planners of the dome had been unable to advise how their project might be completed: they merely expressed a touching faith that at some point in the future God might provide a solution, and architects with a more advanced knowledge would be found. 3-5
Not only did Brunelleschi solve the puzzle, he built the dome without any scaffolding support during construction. I loved this book. The descriptions were so clear that I got dizzy at times. My only small suggestion would be to add a few more diagrams toward the end.
Thrush Green--This book is the first in a series that was recommended to me as an English version of the Mitford books. Pleasant enough, but I prefer Mitford. I doubt I will seek out the other books in the series, but I won't avoid them if they stumble onto my path.
If only people would realize that light-hearted and gay things were not any less significant than the violent and brutish, what a step forward it would be. Because a song, a book, a play, a picture or anything created was gay it did not necessarily follow that it was trivial. 47
The First Paul: Reclaiming the Radical Visionary Behind the Church's Conservative Icon--Another book by Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan. I snatched it up from the New Books shelf at the library. I am not a fan of Paul, and I doubted that Borg and Crossan could change my mind. They argue that some of the letters attributed to Paul were not in fact written by him.
The post-Pauline, pseudo-Pauline letters are anti-Pauline with regard to major aspects of his theology. They represent, as we argue in the next chapter, a taming of Paul, a domestication of Paul's passion to the normalcy of the Roman imperial world in which he and his followers lived. 15
They also made explicit one of the things that bothers me about much of the religious discourse in our country:
For Luther, Paul's message was about the end of requirements as the basis of our relationship with God.
For other Protestants, including even many descendants of Luther, Paul's theology has been understood not as the abolitions of requirements, but as the new requirement--namely, believing his theology is what we must do in order to be saved. 8
I wouldn't say I'm a fan of Paul yet, but I am willing to consider that I might have misunderstood him under the influence of writings falsely attributed to him. I look forward to doing more reading and research.
100 Cupboards and Dandelion Fire--I asked the kids for recommendations, and NB recommended Dandelion Fire. Since it was the second book in the series, I had to read the first book first. These were good enough that I stayed up late reading to see what happened next, but not so great that I picked up the third book. Of course, the author also wrapped things up nicely at the end of the second book. Had there been a thread dangling, I might have read on.
Scarlet Feather--My first Maeve Binchy. I was supposed to read this in Ireland, but didn't get to it. Instead, it became my elliptical machine reading. Pleasant. I might read the other books with these same characters. Some day.
Brunelleschi's Dome--I checked out this book to prepare for my trip to Italy in April. I feel too lazy to learn Italian (really, if I'm going to study a foreign language, I should work on my pathetic Spanish), so the least I can do is supply the background trivia and human-interest stories. This is the story of the construction of the dome on Santa Maria del Fiore, the cathedral in Florence.
For the past fifty years the south aisle of the unfinished cathedral had housed a thirty-foot-long scale model of the structure, in effect an artist's impression of what the cathedral should look like once finished. The problem was that the model included an enormous dome--a dome that, if built, would be the highest and widest vault ever raised. And for fifty years it had been obvious that no one in Florence--or anywhere in Italy, for that matter--had any clear idea how to construct it. The unbuilt dome of Santa Maria del Fiore had therefore become the greatest architectural puzzle of the age. Many experts considered its erection an impossible feat. Even the original planners of the dome had been unable to advise how their project might be completed: they merely expressed a touching faith that at some point in the future God might provide a solution, and architects with a more advanced knowledge would be found. 3-5
Not only did Brunelleschi solve the puzzle, he built the dome without any scaffolding support during construction. I loved this book. The descriptions were so clear that I got dizzy at times. My only small suggestion would be to add a few more diagrams toward the end.
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